You know that feeling. You smile widely and you feel a little sting in the center of your lip …. or you yawn really big and you feel a crack open up at the corner of your lips. Ouch! Chapped lips hurt! Some of us experience chapped lips in the spring and summer, but most people deal with chapped lips in the winter. There are a lot of options for chapped lips treatment these days, but the best treatment just may be prevention.
Chapped lips are caused by several factors. First, in the winter time, lips can get chapped due to the drier air both indoors and outdoors. Inside, the heater that keeps you from shivering may be your worst enemy, drying the air circulating through your home. Since your lips have the thinnest layer of skin on your face, they have the greatest potential for becoming chapped. Breathing through your mouth for long periods of time can also cause your lips to chap. Of course, during the winter when you are most likely to have a congested nose, this is a greater problem than during the summer or fall. Licking your lips may relieve some of the dryness and tingling but it is not a solution to your chapped lips. When the saliva evaporates, it just makes the problem worse!
There are oodles of chapped lips treatments available these days. The best one is still good old lip balm. The goal is to seal the moisture in so that your lips can heal once they are chapped. This also helps to prevent your lips from chapping in the first place. The barrier of lip balm between your lips and the elements fills the cracks and prevents infection or irritation. Whatever you do, don’t bite or pick at the flaking skin on your lips when they are chapped! This can cause great pain and will leave open sights for bacteria and germs to get in.
When choosing a chapped lips treatment, there are a few things you want to look for. An oil based lubricating cream or lip balm that contains petroleum or beeswax is your best bet! Apply it before you go out in the cold weather. It is also beneficial to use indoors, especially when you go into a business or home where the heater is running warmer than you are used to. Your body may adjust to the temperature, but your lips take much longer to acclimate and may dry out in the meantime.
Again, avoid licking your lips if possible. It may feel good for a moment, but in the long run it is not a productive chapped lips treatment. It will only make the condition of your lips worse! If you tend to be a lip licker, you may want to avoid flavored lip balms since it might make you want to lick them more!
Breathe through your nose if at all possible. With the common winter colds that affect you, this may be impossible at times, but do your best! Winter allergies also make this difficult, but when you can, always breathe through your nose.
Of course, one of the easiest things we can do that will produce the best results from head to toe is staying well hydrated! Drinking plenty of water has numerous benefits including preventing chapped lips! While we all face chapped lips from time to time, they can be prevented and treated rather easily.
LipSmart offers the best new chapped lips treatment that will moisturize and repair any damage to your delicate lips during winter cold months.